14th UK National Dance Awards: Nominations announced

November 8, 2013

David Mead

The Dance Section of the UK Critics’ Circle has announced the nominations for the 14th National Dance Awards, which cover the October 2012 to September 2013 season.

The Awards are effectively the British dance Oscars (or maybe that should be BAFTA’s). There was a time when they used to be almost exclusively focused on ballet and contemporary dance. But reflecting the rise in popularity among dancegoers, things are changing. Last year, it was the turn of hip hop to come to the fore, while this year’s nominees include no fewer than three from the highly successful Flamenco Season presented by Sadler’s Wells.

London in particular is very much a hub for dance from all over the world, and this year’s nominations reflect that international flavour. All four Outstanding Company nominees come from overseas for the first time, and more than half of all nominations honour overseas companies or dancers based overseas.

The short-listed comes from a long list of over 250 dancers, choreographers and companies nominated by the UK’s professional dance critics and writers, and so already very much represents the elite of 2013.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Place at the end of January.

Mark Morris (‘Beaux’ for San Francisco Ballet)
David Nixon (‘The Great Gatsby’ for Northern Ballet)
Alexei Ratmansky (‘24 Preludes’ for The Royal Ballet)
Christopher Wheeldon (‘Aeternum’ for The Royal Ballet)

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